Interview Summary

I interviewed a Professional Journalist by the name of David Smith. Smith graduated in May ’08 with a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After graduating he moved to Florida and took a job as a morning Producer with WBBH, a NBC affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida and has been working there for nearly two years.
Smith had pretty traditional views on journalism, but does use some fluff in his newcasts. He defines good journalism as, “Telling viewers what they need to know, as far as government or crime stories, what they want to know as far as sports and entertainment . . . and not over-hyping anything or feeding them worthless information.” In class the other day we discussed the relevancy of information, Smith obviously has a sound understanding if he feels like the viewer can be fed information without including “worthless information.” Smith says, “My newscasts are pretty straightforward and mostly have a serious tone to them. I think there are place for fun stories, but I keep them to a minimum.” Its easy to imagine Smith’s newscasts following the X-format as he emphasizes government and crime, but still believes fun stories have their place in the format.
Smith enjoys being involved and believes he does serve the community. When asked if he had a moment in which he felt like he made a difference, Smtih said he pretty much felt like that on a daily basis. Smith brought up a recent story about the clinics that are officering swine flu vaccinations in his area. “Its not like I’m really out there giving people the shots, but I do feel responsible for some people knowing about the clinic.” Smith believes his newscast is tailored towards the citizens, its not citizen journalism, but its for the people. “We do a lot of “METV” stories, stories that really give people information they can use.” Smith strongly believes in journalism as a public service and an opportunity to inform people if they choose to participate in the public process.
Smith says the life of a Producer isn’t glamorous, but fulfilling as a life style. “Between managers deadliens, low pay, tough schedules, most jobs are not “dream jobs.” But if you like the basics of informing a community, its worth it to stick it out, wak up at 3 am and go in for another day of spreading knowledge.